Influential Woman · Hospitality
Alexandra Lee
Lead Bartender, Your Third Spot
Atlanta, GA
Her Story
About Alexandra
I've been in hospitality since I was 16, and I've been working in this field for 7 years now. I currently serve as a lead bartender at Your Third Spot, where I've been for 3 years total and in my lead role for a year. What I love most about hospitality is making people's day, even if it's just making a drink or doing something different for them. I like to get to know the guests that I'm serving so I can create drinks and do different things that can help somebody that they don't even know that I can create for them, or they don't even know that they would like until they try it. That's by asking questions and being intentional with every guest that I'm with. My main strength is problem solving - I'm really quick on my feet when it comes to figuring out the quickest way to solve any problem that arises. Whether it's somebody calling out for the day or managing pressure during busy times, I make sure everything makes sense like a big puzzle to run the shift smoothly and successfully. I also mentor new leads that come in, and right now I'm helping one new lead we just hired on. While working full-time in hospitality, I'm also attending Chamberlain University in Sandy Springs, Georgia, pursuing my nursing degree. I was inspired to become a nurse after having a major surgery when I was younger for an Arnold Chiari malformation. The nurses I connected with during that time always left an imprint on me, and I've always wanted to do that for somebody else - take care of somebody else like they took care of me. I always remember my nurses, never really the doctors. I know that nursing is supposed to be the end goal, but I cannot get away from hospitality, especially with the people that I'm with. The current job that I'm at has a hold on me because I've been there for 3 years, and we are planning to grow more and expand in Atlanta, which is really exciting.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alexandra
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think the owner of Your Third Spot, his name is Josh Rossmeister, really looks after his team and makes sure that we grow ourselves. He gives us the resources and everything to help us be better leaders. We also have this LEAD program led by Haley Ellington, where they pour into us as well. We do meetings every month, and we check in and make sure that everybody's on the same accord. Everybody has their section in the building where they are kind of upholding. That LEAD program helps a lot with giving us the tools to be better leaders. Haley holds us accountable if we're not doing our best or being the best that we could be. I really do appreciate them, because I wouldn't be as far as I am in my lead role if it wasn't for them.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
For hospitality, I would just say be your authentic self. You can't be anybody else but who you are. That's how you make your connections, that's how you become the person you want to be when it comes to being somebody in the service industry. You know what bad service looks like. Why would you not want to be 10 times greater, make somebody's day that you didn't even know how? And as for nursing, it's going to be very hard. Like they say, it's always going to be hard, but balancing your time and understanding what's important and the end goal, which is passing the NCLEX, that should be your motivation to keep going.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Sometimes bartenders have a hard time being able to withstand so much pressure at one time. When that happens, that's where the real leadership comes in - I can kind of motivate them into thinking, like, hey, this may suck right now because of all these people that are coming up to us and constantly ordering drinks, but if you continue to push through and keep going, it's gonna get easier. You just gotta build that momentum. On the opportunities side, we're getting the chance to create more than just pouring drinks into a glass. Bartending is really your chance to express yourself within the glass. I'm getting more and more bartenders able to put themselves in the glass, like make new drinks that they've never thought that they could make before, and just think outside the box than just a regular gin and tonic.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.